[Me getting the crowd excited, with a somewhat overwhelmed Senator Christina Presenti to my left]

Last Tuesday, the second half of first semester kicked off, once again, with Midnight Madness, Assumption's annual mid October omnibus spectacular. After weeks of anticipation, I finally got to be Pierre the Greyhound a second time. My hands were not tied by a script, and I took full advantage of my status as a freewheeling mascot. While the mascots usually (let them be blessed) stand near the doorway greeting newly arriving students, and then stay by the sidelines, I spent much of my time running and dancing down the aisles enlivening the crowd, which apparently loved it. Indeed, I graced the whole of the Hound Pound, giving folks I didn't know the pound and stealing the hats from people I did. Many of the people who hadn't even been told I was Pierre could guess it was me since my sleeve was showing, or simply from my characteristic exuberance. Ignoring the admonitions about how hot it would get, I kept this up for a good forty-five minutes. Consequently, I became more inconceivably overheated than I've been since the 8th grade mile run- aye, the words still send shivers 'long the spines of nonathletic collegians like myself- and had to throw in the towel after the show was only half over. Even my tie was damp with sweat.

Happily, all the feedback about my performance as Pierre has been positive, and I should get to be the big dawg again for the Light the Night walk (which will require no hopping around, and take place- well, at night). After a little thinking, I realized that the experience sheds some light on the sacrifices our troops make for us every day, especially those stationed in Iraq. Besides the combat, from which myself and most every civilian would run like a scaredy cat, they have to wear heavy outfits with multiple layers in the desert sun, with temperatures ranging from the 90s this time of year to over 120° in the summer. And they have to go at it for hours at a time. I was Pierre for less than an hour in a lukewarm gymnasium. It's enough to make one feel silly for getting overheated on the inside of a hide of faux fur. As I have said before, the men and women of our military exert themselves for us every day; the frequency of their ordeals makes them seem all the more commonplace and all too forgettable in civilian eyes. St. George, pray for them.

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On a lighter note, I think I'll get around to typing up a poem that's distinctly Assumption College in theme. Although I wrote it two weeks ago, it's especially relevant at this very moment, when probably half the college is out at varied Worcester bars and clubs. While I would not have posted it without her consultation, the subject, a well-known and well-beloved peer that greets everyone as they enter a certain dining facility, gave me permission to post the sonnet she requested of me; still I won't say her name. While she's nice, the idea for these verses popped into my head; I can't always be nice! She loved it anyway.

Sonnet XCVII- --- --

My subject doodles every page away
In female's fancy, single-handed while
She swipes the others' cards to rush their file,
And takes one with her come the end of day.
With desk-bound duties done, and flush with glee,
She's told of parties, and along she comes
To down some alcohol, the axiom
Of pleasant nights, transpired worthlessly.
Although she bores of Sunday Masses, I'm
Still sure her Harry Potter forehead crease,
A girlhood relic, dotted centerpiece,
Was marked by Jesus' drywall hand. In time,
Her soul will shimmer, like her smiles bright,
Receiving of the tabernacle's Light.

Gotta love those posters. When my friend was three, she tripped and fell into the corner of a wall while her cousin was chasing her. Ever the connoisseur of curiosities, I think it's very pretty, and while she was a bit shy of my attention at first, she seems much prouder of her "scar" than she was before- in great part because she's a Harry Potter fanatic.

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One last thing. With all of New England (minus my dad the Yankees die hard), I was amazed and overjoyed by the Sox's comeback last night. Indeed, there was reveling and hooting across campus for hours. The Sox are still down, so they need all the prayers they can get. True, I don't know why God would favor one secular sports franchise over another, but just before the game yesterday all of SEARCH joined hands in prayer for the home team; it might just have done the trick. GET ON YOUR KNEES, RED SOX NATION!